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Winter Choir Concert

By: Janelle Perez

 

The annual winter choir concert was held last Friday, Dec. 14 in the L-Building. The free concert featured PHHS Varsity Choir, Concert Choir, and vocal jazz group The Treblemakers.

The concert focused around holiday music and included Christmas classics such as Deck the Halls and Sleigh Ride, which is performed every year. The groups started to rehearse right after their previous fall concert in order to perfect their performance.

Focusing on pieces they have learned throughout the semester, the choir groups brought holiday cheer to the stage. Varsity choir opened the concert singing Firefly Darkness, followed by O Vos Omnes, The Bells and Sleigh Ride which was a combined performance with concert choir.

“Firefly Darkness was my favorite song to sing because it’s very joyful and adventurous,” said junior Kaitlyn Nguyen. The singers spent time rehearsing their songs and memorizing their parts.

Vocal Jazz group, The Treblemakers performed after Varsity Choir, singing Bumblebee, Voice Dance and Christmas Jazz.

“Bumblebee has three solos, which I was a part of, and I enjoyed singing that the most,” said senior Jeremiah Porda

a student also a part of the Choir Concert group.

Along with Deck the Halls and Sleigh Ride, the group also performed Where I Send Thee, O Magnum, Mysterium and Cacticum Novum.

Concert choir followed The Treblemakers in bringing holiday cheer through their strong vocals and special dance number.

“I was most excited to sing ‘Hela Rotan’,” expressed senior Lourdes Sandoval with great excitement. “Since we are dancing and moving around during it, I think adds to the song perfectly,” said Lourdes. Concert Choir closed the concert, making their last school performance of the semester a success.

Friends and family came out to show support for the PHHS choir groups and enjoyed holiday treats and performances by the different choir groups.

Along with great music and performances by PHHS choir and The Treblemakers, hot chocolate was provided by Insane Ink, in order to contribute to the holiday spirit and warmth.

“I think the concert is a great way to relax before finals and a great way to start the holiday season,” says senior Samantha Alderete who attended the music filled night. “It was my first time attending a choir concert and I loved it!” The music brought an early feel of the holidays to campus and showcased the hard work and talent of our fellow PHHS choir groups.

Choir is anticipated to have their annual concert in the spring semester with beaming music to be sung.

 

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An annual winter-like concert

By Drew Olaviano

What a wintery night! The PHHS music department had performed their seasonal “Winter in Bach” concert in the L-Building on December 12, 7 p.m.

“I’m excited about this performance because it’ll be my last winter concert here, so I want to make it the best,” said Symphony Orchestra first violinist player Kevin Su.

The performance happened last Wednesday which is just a week before finals, giving students and audience members alike to a festive feel for Christmas instead of a season filled with workload and stress.

“We have practiced arduously these past few months to better the pieces that we are performing, so I hope people will come to the concert despite it being on a Wednesday,” said Symphony Orchestra violinist Asher Twu.

Once audience members filled in the seats in the building, the performance began. As usual, the String Orchestra started off the grand opening, performing pieces such as Allegro from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K.V 525 by W. A. Mozart, Waltz from Serenade, Op. 48 by P. I. Tchaikovsky, The Dargason From St. Paul’s Suite by Gustav Holst and Jingle Bells Hoedown arranger by Robert Kerr.

Concert Band was next to perform with pieces titled Marche Des Parachutiste Belges by Pierre Leemans, Greensleeves arranged by Alfred Reed and The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Eddie Pola and George Wyle; arranged by John Moss.

Symphony Orchestra performed next after intermission was over with such wintery pieces titled Danse Slave from Le Roi Malgre Lui by Emmanuel Chabrier, Adagio from Symphony in C by Georges Bizet, Overture to Egmont, Op. 84 by Ludwig van Beethoven and Trepak from The Nutcracker by P. I Tchaikovsky.

The last to perform on stage was Wind Ensemble. To finish off the winter concert, they perform various pieces titled Rumble on the High Plains by Michael Sweeney, Wachet Auf by J. S. Bach with the arrangement of Alfred Reed and Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson.

With these different groups performing on the big stage, the annual winter concert closed off with many high expectations and festivity within the music department.

This will not be the last winter performance for many performers in the music department. Although for the senior performers, this concert would be their last annual winter performance at Piedmont Hills.

However, that doesn’t mean their excitement has fallen. Many performers from Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble are now preparing for their performance in Disneyland which will take place next year.

“Disneyland is definitely the most exciting upcoming performance. It’s the biggest event/performance we have and it’s only every other year,” explains Symphony Orchestra viola player Tiffany Nguyen.

The music department’s last performance took place in their annual October fall concert. Overall, the winter concert was a treat to people, audience members and players alike, who attended the festive event. By performing a week before finals, the performance was able to keep its festivity intact within the group.

The music department will be hosting their next performance soon and believe they can improve more as the year goes on.

 

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Interesting holidays

Dec.18- Bake Cookies day

Dec. 19- Look for an Evergreen Day

Dec. 20- Go Caroling Day

Dec. 21- Winter Solstice

Dec. 22- National Date Nut Bread Day

Dec. 23- Roots Day

Dec. 24- National Egg Nog Day

Dec. 25- Christmas Day

Dec. 26- Boxing Day

Dec. 27- National Fruitcake Day

Dec. 28- Card Playing Day

Dec. 29- Pepper Pot day

Dec. 30- Bacon Day

Dec. 31- New Year’s Eve

thelegendonline News

Treblemakers bring Christmas Jazz to NASA

By Sophia Xiao and Rex Ly

 

PHHS’ vocal jazz group, the Treblemakers, serenaded NASA employees with Christmas Jazz at the NASA Ames Research Center on Sat., Dec. 8.

Treblemaker alumni Margaret Levithan’s dad, who works for NASA, invited the jazz cappella group to perform for their Christmas party, according to Conductor Myles Ellis.

“It was really fun. We were able to draw considerably large crowds and spread some holiday cheer! We also got free food and merch from NASA,” said soprano Lilly Liu.

With songs like “Carol of the Bell,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and “Jingle Bells,” the group of nineteen continued their tradition of singing Christmas songs at the staff’s Christmas Party. The group also sang “Voice Dance” and “Bumble Bee,” which featured soloists Lilly, Amy Dao, and Jeremiah Porda.

“The solo went really smoothly! People seemed to enjoy having soloists and hearing our unique voices,” said Lilly.

The group sang a total of four times at the party and even had time in between performances to enjoy the huge Christmas party.

“It wasn’t like a concert at all. It was more like a Treblemakers bonding,” explained tenor Baron Lee. “The last time we performed was the best out of all the four times, because we listened to each other better, and we knew how to start off and what the tempo was in the beginning instead of rushing all the way through.”

The Treblemakers last performed at NASA back in 2015, so this is the first time the current members will perform there. While the short preparation time and special audience was a source of anxiety for some members, senior Samuel Dai felt the group delivered a strong performance.

“The jitters are always hard to ignore in the beginning but the group is like a family, and we rely on each other during performances. Even though singing in front of strangers can be terrifying, we get assurance knowing we have each other’s backs,” explained Samuel.

The Treblemakers prepared for this performance as well as for the winter choir concert, Snow Better Place to Be, through rehearsals every Monday, Thursday and Friday during Lunch and Wednesday before school.

“The students are hardworking, and we treat this like a professional job,” said Mr. Ellis.
The members love singing and are dedicated to the group. For them, singing is a form of expression and gives them a sense of community.

“I just feel like I can portray my emotions better through singing,” expressed Baron.

The vocal jazz group frequently performs at choir concerts and other showcases.

“As a member of this group for three years, vocal jazz has become such a large portion of my high school experience, and I feel a responsibility to continue the legacy the alumni from past generations left to us,” said Samuel.

thelegendonline News

Math Contest

By David Shih

 

The Senior Math Olympiad, a math competition, demonstrates fierce competition of mathematics among the top students at local high schools in the Santa Clara Valley. Piedmont Hills’ selected mathematicians this year are seniors Asher Twu and Sophia Xiao. Sophia Got first place in division 2, and Asher got 5th place. The competition took place on Dec. 8 from 8:30 am to 11:30 am at Valley Christian High School.

Piedmont Hills currently is in the second division of the competition. This means that the contestants of our school will only have to go up against contestants in the same division.

Sophia was also ranked 4th out of the whole completion (Division 1 and 2).

“It was really unexpected that I won the competition (for division 2) and placed 4th overall. I usually get really nervous before the competition and it was really a big surprise that we beat out big schools such as Lynbrook, Evergreen and Valley Christian, “stated Sophia after the competition.

The content of the event ranges from Geometry to Algebra 2 for the students to solve. The competition took roughly 2 hours, followed up by another mini event where participants are required to participate.

“This event is really just another way for me to pursue math outside school not just restricted by the schools classes that are offered and stuff like that,” said Sophia. “This will be last event that I can put towards colleges so it’s fairly important (to me)”.

Preparing and studying for this event also took up a lot of time. Even though the content of the problems require skills from Pre-Calculus, the context the problems are put in were very confusing. As a result, the contestants spent hours training for the event.

“I didn’t really want to join, Sophia just forced me to join, but seriously. I really enjoy doing math and it’s just another way for me to get recognition for something I love.” said Asher.

The event will also include history problems that focuses when certain theorems was introduced and accepted.

Another senior Anne Ouyang was invited to the event, but unfortunately couldn’t make the event due to another coding competition that fell on the same day.             The Senior Math Olympiad was not only just a competition for math. It is also a bonding event that allows students that are interested in math, to get to know one another and compete for something that they love.

 

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Advanced Drama rings in Holiday Spirit with Winter Showcase

Harleen Kaur and Christine Do

                The PHHS Advanced Drama class held its annual winter showcase on Dec. 7 in the L-Building.

“Part of learning about theater is learning how to produce theater, so it’s important for actors to learn about the whole process. The drama showcase gives them a chance to direct, work on light design, costume design and all the facets of what it means to produce theater,” said Anna Woods, the drama teacher.

This is another show that the Drama Department puts on besides the fall play and the spring musical. In this play titled The Elf on the Shelf Must Die, parents surprised twins Sammy and Luke with an Elf on the Shelf toy named Pip that would report their actions to Santa and decide whether they were on the naughty or nice list. In an attempt to keep Pip quiet, Sammy accidentally kills the elf and embarks on a journey with Luke and Benny to return the dead elf to Walmart. The play was performed during 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th period.

“This is an opportunity for those advanced drama students who do not participate in the play or musical to showcase their talents on stage,” commented junior Amanda Gill, a member of the costume crew.

Unlike previous years, the showcase script was not made by the advanced drama students themselves; instead, they bought the script from a publisher. Going through a dozen scripts, the drama crew finally found one that they thought would be able to spread the Christmas spirit.

“We spent two hours going through scripts till we found this one which made us all laugh, and we decided this was the perfect script,” said lights and sounds director Chris Nguyen.

Countless hours and weeks were spent on the preparation of this show, from finding costumes that fit the story to the delivery of the performance itself. The drama students have worked hard in directing and practicing for this performance.

“We had to run around Walmart for three hours to look for costumes that are affordable and fit production,” stated Amanda.

                The audience thoroughly enjoyed the play, clapping and gasping along as the kids fight the elves.

                “I was surprised when they threw Pip’s body around as if she were actually dead,” said junior Nghi Nguyen.

For this showcase, the Drama department and Insane Ink have teamed up together to put on an evening performance called Winterfest along with other Christmas festivities such as face painting, family games, and handing out hot chocolate.

“It’s a chance for the parents of the students to come and enjoy the performance since many cannot make it to the morning performance,” stated Ms. Woods.

The Drama Department hoped to bring some cheer and joy into Piedmont Hills before finals came along.

“We hope that everyone comes out to the morning performance or the evening show to kick off the holiday season. It’s our way of saying ‘Happy Holidays’,” said Ms. Woods.

thelegendonline News

Red Cross hosts Fall Blood Drive

By Sophia.Xiao

 

PHHS Red Cross hosted its annual Fall Blood Drive on Nov. 2 in the Library, inviting Vitalant Research Institute nurses, equipment and staff onto campus to harvest blood from 58 students and staff. Blood donations collected at Piedmont Hills will directly supply the 45 hospitals here in the Bay Area, according to Vitalant Donor Recruitment Representative Nick Hooks.

“100% of that blood comes from volunteer donors so if we don’t have donors like the ones here at Piedmont Hills, those patients don’t have a chance to see tomorrow,” said Mr. Hooks.

When it comes to life-saving transfusions, there is no substitute for blood, which is used to treat accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients, and those battling cancer, according to the Red Cross website.

“We’re always in a shortage, especially in the Bay Area, since there are so many people,” said Red Cross Co-President Mignon Lee.

By hosting their biannual blood drives, Red Cross helps to diminish that shortage and save lives. In fact, high school students are a very important demographic for Vitalant.

“They’re actually our largest source of blood. During the school year, about 35% of the blood supply comes from high school students, so it’s a really important aspect of what we do,” said Mr. Hooks. “Additionally, a lot of the people donating at these drives, it’s their first time donating so that is where we get our lifetime donors.”

Among the 58 donors, 40 were first-time donors. Students were pulled out of class from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. to donate blood in the Library bustling with Red Cross volunteers, Vitalant nurses and recovering donors. Donors were rewarded with a free T-shirt, as well as juice and snacks meant to help them recover lost iron and vitamins.

“I was very (nervous) because I hate needles, but it’s for a good cause, so I decided I’m just going to do it and stop being a wimp,” shared first-time donor Stacey Huang. “It’s a good experience. You get very pampered with all this food and you’re donating blood which helps others.”

“It’s really a magical experience to see how you can impact other people through something that you own,” said Red Cross Vice President Shannon Liu.

While the donation is a simple and safe procedure, Red Cross advises donors to follow certain precautions before and afterwards to stay healthy and prevent injury.

“They recommend eating a good breakfast, having salt, sleeping the night before, and staying hydrated,” explained Mignon.

According to the Red Cross website, nurses collect one pint of blood as well as several additional samples for testing. The blood is then processed, packaged and tested for blood type and infectious diseases. Finally, the blood is shipped off to hospitals where it is stored and available for use at any time.

thelegendonline Cultural Corner

Asian cuisines for Thanksgiving

By Vincent Hoang

 

On Thanksgiving, many families and friends will come together to enjoy the great holiday. However, even though coming together is great, food is very essential to these gatherings. That is why The Legend wants to give some options for foods anyone can make this upcoming Thanksgiving.

Although the traditional turkey is the obvious, delicious option for Thanksgiving dinner, a seafood option can work just as well. More specifically, a lemon dill grilled salmon can be a fantastic alternative than turkey. It’s simple, tasteful, healthier and less expensive. Using lemon sauce for this dish will help enhance the fish’s flavor, turning it a bit sweeter. Along with grilling the salmon flavors the surface of the fish, giving it a smoky taste as well. Most salmon dishes have the skin taken off, but, in my opinion, leaving the skin on gives a crunchy feeling to the dish in contrast to its soft counterpart.  After being put on a grill on medium heat, you are left with a tender, sweet and savory meal for the entire family. Served with white rice and green beans, this quick and easy meal can be done in around fifteen minutes.

Another amazing option is a Thai Chicken Coconut Curry. This meal is a bit more difficult than salmon, but as long as you have the ingredients and spices, you can make this meal in under 30 minutes with a great quantity of it. The ingredients consists of chicken, curry paste, carrots, canned coconut, coconut, ginger, white rice, basil, spinach, lime juice and red chili pepper. How to make it is first having a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add onions after and stir for five minutes until it softens. Add your chicken to the pot and cook until chicken is done. Add some garlic and ginger and stir for around one minute. Then add your curry paste, salt pepper and carrots. Let the skillet boil for around 5 minutes under medium heat now then add lime juice, spinach and red chili pepper and stir for two minutes to finish the meal. What’s good about this meal is that it has many powerful flavors, from spicy to savory from the chicken and coconut flavors, it’s a very filling meal with the white rice balancing these flavors out. Since this dish creates a great amount, there will always be good for everyone, this is fantastic meal for the whole family.

Some side dishes now are another great way of filling the stomachs of everyone on the dinner table. One being a chicken satay. Having peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, curry powder, garlic and small portions of chicken breasts, this can be great sides other than the classic mash potatoes or green beans. Using a mixing bowl, mix all the in a bowl and place the chicken breasts in to marinate in the refrigerator for at least a while. After place on grill on medium heat for five minutes on each side and you have a mouth watery, juicy side to go along with your other dishes.

Instead of mashed potatoes, pan-fried potatoes is a spectacular alternative for a side dish. Simply skin and cut potatoes into small, cube shapes. Put it into a container, add some olive oil and season to your preference with one clove of minced garlic. Add to a low-heat pan to cook the potatoes slowly in the inside without burning the outsides. Let the potatoes sit in the pan for around a minute then stir or shake the pan to cook all sides then let the potatoes sit once again and repeat the process. After the potatoes turn brown on all sides, they are ready. With a crispy outer and a fluffy interior, it has a beautiful taste to go along with the many other dishes you have on the table.

There are many more options rather than the regular turkey, potatoes, and green beans. However, in order to make each Thanksgiving different and fun, we must find different ways of making it enjoyable, such as creative meals from different cultures.

thelegendonline Centerspread, Uncategorized

Black Friday tips

By Victor Xie

 

Imagine: On the afternoon of Black Friday, the malls are filled and almost all the good deals are taken. Finding parking was the most intolerable experience of your life and now you have absolutely no idea what to do or how to spend your money. Well, here are some tips to avoid that scenario and get you the best deals of the year! Please note that these deals are mainly for those who want to buy clothes, not electronics.

  1. Make a plan. What is your budget? What are you trying to buy? If it’s clothes, what store? Make a budget and stick to it. Make a list of stores you want to hit and figure out your sizes beforehand. Those fitting rooms will be packed on Black Friday and it’s best that you come prepared.
  2. Go early in the morning. Most stores in Great Mall and Valley Fair reopen at 6 to 7 a.m. This means that while the rest of America is still dreaming about their Thanksgiving turkey, you can beat the traffic, the parking problems and the majority of the crowd. The lines at almost all the stores will be short. Plus, if the rest of your family finally wakes up at 10 a.m. and wants your parking spot, you can auction it off to the highest bidder.
  3. 50% and nothing less. Target, Forever 21, American Eagle, the list goes on and on. These stores don’t give you even 50% and are simply here to use Black Friday as a psychological strategy to get you to buy their products. Unless you miraculously find an acceptable item that is on clearance (as in 50% off or more), these stores are a trap.
  4. Buy with a good mindset. During Black Friday, you want to buy as if you aren’t going to spend money for the entire next year. Buy for the winter, the spring, the summer and possibly the fall season. Buy those shorts you know you’re going to need for track practice even though you won’t wear them until March. Buy that Christmas gift for your relative while it’s still 60% off. Trust me, you’ll save more money in the big picture.
  5. Finish shopping by 12 p.m. At this time, you should circle the mall one last time for any last minute things you wanted to buy. You may notice that the crowd is coming in, and because you don’t want to be seen by the rest of Piedmont Hills at Great Mall, you have to get out. So leave your parking spot and say goodbye to the three cars fighting for it because you have just accomplished what the rest of America couldn’t realize: to get up early.

Have fun getting those spicy deals!

 

 

thelegendonline Centerspread, Uncategorized

Thanksgiving activities

By David Shih

 

Are you dumbfounded when asked about what Thanksgiving activities you do with your family? What you do can vary from person to person, and family to family. The traditional way to celebrate Thanksgiving is to cook a meal for your entire family and eat it together. But what else can you really do?

“(My) family doesn’t really celebrate Thanksgiving, we just eat hotpot,” said senior Mike Guo.

Others didn’t really follow the traditional homemade meal and feast together.

“We just go out and eat Popeyes,” admitted sophomore Aileen Le.

Due to a lack of ideas from our student body, here are some interesting activities that you can do with your family during Thanksgiving.

 

Family Game Night

Do you ever find yourself sitting in a room with your family, conversations sparking in different groups, and you feel left out? Here’s a way to jump in and relieve the awkwardness by interacting with everyone in the room. Pull out a board game, and have a competitive evening of family game night. Some board game ideas include Monopoly, The Game of Life, Headbanz, Apples to Apples, and Scrabble. And you can even compromise that whoever loses cleans up all the dishes.

 

Bingo

What sounds better than a game of Bingo with the family? This activity allows prime family gathering time and is preferred and loved from people of all ages. You can also select certain Thanksgiving prizes such as Thanksgiving sticker or paintings to the winners

 

Planning a shopping strategy for Black Friday

Does mom want that pair of new earrings? Does little brother want that new game that just came out a couple days ago? Does dad want that suit that he’s been eyeing for half a year? This is a perfect opportunity for the family to get together and set up a perfect plan for the family to get everything that they want

 

Breaking a Wishbone

Do you want to have that A+ in your class or a brand new car from your parents? According to tradition, after the Thanksgiving meal family members that have a wish in which they break it, the one with the longer bone gets their wish granted, while the shorter one do not

 

Telling the Thanksgiving Story

Parents this is the perfect opportunity to tell your kids how this American exclusive holiday was made. You guys can take turns telling the kids how rough it is on the first couple years landing and how everyone almost starved to death> Thanks to the Native Americans we were able to survive as they gave us Turkey and potatoes. This is why we call this holiday “Thanksgiving”.

 

Hot Pot

A new tradition that has emerged from Thanksgiving is eating hotpot with the family. Hotpot is a traditional Chinese cooking method that involves adding random foods and spices into a bowl of hot water and eating your concoction in the end.

“We eat hot pot because we don’t know how to make turkey,” said Mike.

 

Those are just a few ideas to help liven up your Thanksgiving with the family.